"I will be returning to work at this site when it has been made safe for children."

After a few days of confusion, perhaps the urban garden craziness is getting clearer. Keep New Albany Clean & Greens's Jerry Finn had this to say in a note to NAC:

"Michele (Finn) was taking the lead on the Urban Fusion garden, but community gardens have been an initiative of Keep New Albany Clean and Green since it was first incorporated in April of 2011. We will move forward with community garden plans, and look forward to the day that Michele is able to get re-involved."

Michele herself speaks in this mailing to her urban gardening group, reiterating what she'd written in blog comments and on the newspaper's web site.

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Hi Garden Gang,

If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, here is the link for the Tribune article.

http://newsandtribune.com/floydcounty/x915988550/Organizers-say-lead-contamination-won-t-hinder-community-garden-in-New-Albany

I didn't get a chance to speak with Daniel before the article ran. He had tried to contact me, I had tried to call him back. It didn't work out.

The lead content is at a level of est. 393 ppm. Not safe for pregnant women and children range is from 300-999.

From UMASS EXT office~

*If estimated lead totals are above 300 ppm, young children and pregnant women should avoid contact with the soil. Estimated levels of lead above 2000 ppm are considered a concern for all users and may represent a hazardous waste station.

So it's at a level safe for adults, just not expecting adults or children where brain development is still in the works.

Jerry and I have been working together and documents will be provided regarding the procedures used to make this site completely family friendly. I believe that we will see positive results. I will be returning to work at this site when it has been made safe for children.

Greg Sekula plans to use the Emery's building painting as an education tool for the public. He plans on teaching ways of testing for lead and how to remove toxic paint safely once it has been found.

We are still looking at other garden sites in conjunction with this site. If you have any other questions, fire away. There are bumps with all projects and this is one is no exception.

We would love even more community involvement with this project!

If you have questions for Jerry or Greg their addresses are

jfinn@horseshoefoundation.org
GSekula@indianalandmarks.org

Thank you for your support!